City of Hope Medical Center Case Study

City of Hope Medical Center Cuts Outdoor Water Usage by 25% and Reduces Liabilities During Growth and Expansion

“The benefits of using WeatherTRAK
technology were apparent within the
first weeks after installation”

— Darryl WilsonFacilities Director for City of Hope

CHALLENGE

City of Hope Medical Center, a leading research and treatment organization located northeast of Los Angeles, focuses on treating and preventing disease, as well as upholding sustainable environmental practices. Its 120-acre medical campus with 48 acres of diverse landscape includes a well-known rose garden, Japanese koi pond, and more than a million square feet of turf.

City of Hope facility management struggled to adhere to outdoor water use restrictions and manage water budgets in light of rising water costs. Because of the wide range of landscape type, irregular irrigation schedules overwatered the landscape at times, damaging plant health, and potentially increasing liability for slips and falls, excess mildew and mold, which are detrimental to hospital structures and a hygienic medical environment. Additionally, pedestrian traffic and special events further stressed the landscape, making outdoor smart water management a necessity.

SOLUTION

In partnership with ValleyCrest Landscape Maintenance (now BrightView), City of Hope installed two WeatherTRAK smart controllers. Within the first two weeks, they benefited from the weather-based automated scheduling and web-based remote programming, immediately reducing the number of truck rolls and manual adjustments. As a result of the successful pilot, Darryl Wilson, Director of Facilities at City of Hope, quickly made the decision to replace all of the campus’ outdated irrigation timers with 47 WeatherTRAK controllers.

HIGHLIGHTS

25% reduction in outdoor water use, saving $45,833 per year

Fewer truck rolls

Irrigation run times cut by 1/3

“WeatherTRAK provides us with the opportunity to monitor current environmental conditions and provide the appropriate quantity of water that’s required to maintain a healthy thriving landscape,” said Wilson. “The condition and health of our vegetation in our landscape is as important to us as the appearance. Converting our irrigation controllers to WeatherTRAK provided us with a property management tool for controlling and monitoring specific watering requirements for a wide variety of plant life.”

Eliminating overwatering to the landscape also reduced liability and risks. The City of Hope was also able to increase operational efficiencies despite a 15% growth in facilities and related maintenance.